VIEWS & OPINION
The importance of encouraging young
people to ‘switch off’ Comment by CHARLOTTE CASTLE, DofE Manager, Windsor Girls’ School
Phones and social media are an inevitable part of youth culture and it would be unfair to stigmatise young people for their desire to be active online, especially when society is ever more reliant on the internet. However, recent data from The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) shows that 84% of teachers are concerned about the effects of social media on students’ wellbeing. The addictive power of social media
can’t be downplayed. Apps are deliberately designed to engage with you and keep you scrolling. With teenagers
now spending an average of 18 hours per week on their phones, we need to find ways of encouraging them to ‘switch off’. However, it’s not as simple as asking them to turn off their phones, or leave them at home, which can often cause greater anxiety. ‘Fear of
missing out’ is something which affects 49% of young people, according to research from the DofE. There is also limited, if any, education or training given to young people about how to actually ‘switch off’. The DofE findings also show 73% of teachers are concerned that not enough life skills are being taught in school, which should arguably include social media use. Creating spaces where phones and social media are not in use is vital
to the development of young people. As a PE teacher, I strongly believe that exercise is the perfect platform for helping young people to ‘switch off’. Physical education lessons help to reduce stress and anxiety, while developing students’ self-esteem and resilience, skills which are needed for life. The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and other similar out of school
activities, also provide young people with the opportunity to turn-off from the pressures of social media and develop life skills. The most common reflection from students, after their DofE expedition, is the relief they felt from having a weekend away from their phones. It’s important that we provide young people with the skills and space
they need to ‘switch off’, so they can become less worried about group chats and increase their confidence in conversations that don’t involve a phone. Luckily, it’s not all doom and gloom. Whilst the concerns raised by
teachers are valid, it is important to remember that the pressure young people are under today is completely different to the pressures of a decade ago. They are taking on harder examinations, moving into a much more competitive job market and contending with hugely increased costs for further education; it’s no wonder they’re stressed. Yet so many succeed and thrive on a day to day basis. In my experience, it’s the ones that have been on adventures without a phone that often show the most confidence and resilience.
Why we must always
remember the Holocaust Comment by KAREN POLLOCKMBE, Chief Executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust
We are at a crucial juncture in time as we think about how we teach a defining moment in human history. We must contemplate a world where the Holocaust is no longer living history, but rather ‘just’ history. In 2019 Holocaust is a live story, with evidence, witnesses and the sites of the atrocities available to visit. However, within this generation, we will be moving from a time where Holocaust survivors can tell their stories, to having no first-hand witnesses left. At the same time, antisemitism
and Holocaust denial are on the rise, with 2018 being recorded as
the most antisemitic year on record by the Community Security Trust. This must be combatted with education. We ensure that Holocaust education across the country is as accessible as possible, and that the lessons we share not only teach young people about the history of the Holocaust, but that they are memorable and inspire curiosity so that future generations will continue to learn and remember about the past. The Holocaust cannot become something that happened a long time ago, that happened to someone else, with students truly coming to
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grips with the horrors of the crimes so unprecedented they coined the word genocide. The challenge is how we encourage critical thinking teaching about a period that creates unanswerable questions. In 1999, we created the Lessons from Auschwitz project. We
designed a project that would allow people of every background, across the country, to understand what the Holocaust was, to consider how Nazi antisemitism led to the murder of Jewish men, women and children, to meet and listen to those who witnessed the Nazis attempted murder of European Jewry, and to explore the lessons of the past. Since 1999, we have taken over 37,000 students and teachers to Auschwitz- Birkenau, with thousands going on to becoming Ambassadors to history and witnesses to the truth of the Holocaust. We must always ensure that survivor testimony remains at the heart
of our work, and that their stories and legacies will live on with our many thousands of young Ambassadors. For, not only is the Holocaust a vital part of world history, it is a key part of British history. Only last month, tens of thousands of students from every corner of the country – from Guernsey to Scotland, from the Shetland Islands to Cornwall – tuned into hear Harry Spiro BEM, a Holocaust survivor, share his story of survival via a live webcast. It was streamed in to classrooms across the UK. Nothing could ever replace the unique experience of hearing from a
survivor or visiting a place like Auschwitz, but as we seek to bring Holocaust education to every young person in the UK, and as survivors grow fewer and frailer, these kinds of digital innovation become more and more crucial. It is our time to step up, innovate and change the way we educate about the Holocaust, to safeguard it for future generations. As we look to the future, a future without survivors and one where
antisemitism is rising year on year, we need to think of new ways to make sure the lessons of the Holocaust are not forgotten when survivors aren’t here. We need to find ways of ensuring that people respond to antisemitism in the way that they would respond to other forms of racism and identity-based hate. The Holocaust Educational Trust will continue to ensure lessons of the Holocaust are understood, internalised and taught.
February 2019
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